Commercial litigation partner Dean Parnell, 45, was enjoying a night out at the busy Bacchus Bar in Birmingham city centre when someone swiped the hand-held computer

Lawyer Dean Parnell who had his i-Pad stolen but was able to trace it back thanks to the tracking chip inside it.

A lawyer has told how he was forced to turn detective to track down a suspected iPad thief in another county - after police repeatedly refused to investigate.

Commercial litigation partner Dean Parnell, 45, was enjoying a night out at the busy Bacchus Bar in Birmingham city centre when someone swiped the hand-held computer on Friday.

Within an hour the quick-thinking solicitor had traced the iPad to four possible addresses in Water Orton some 10 miles away in north Warwickshire, thanks to an Apple tracking device.

But when he raced to nearby Steelhouse Lane Police station to urge officers to act on his information, he says he was told no-one was available until the following day.

Worried the evidence or suspect could disappear, Mr Parnell decided to travel to Water Orton himself, fruitlessly ringing West Midlands Police a further FOUR TIMES for help on the way.

When he arrived in the village he knocked at one of the four doors and recognised the stunned householder who answered from the Bacchus Bar.

After being challenged by the lawyer, he returned the £750 iPad - which he claimed to have found and was going to hand in to Apple the following day. Police later issued him with a ‘stern warning’.

Last night, Mr Parnell expressed concern at the way the case was handled by West Midlands Police. He said: “I went to the police station. I was able to demonstrate that an apparent crime was taking place and I was turned away.

Bacchus Bar

‘‘West Midlands Police’s service was very poor but they did call me on Sunday to apologise.

‘‘I guess I was more angry about the way I had been treated at the police station on Friday than I was about an opportunist who had pocketed my iPad.’’

The drama began at around 7pm on Friday when the iPad was stolen from Mr Parnell, a partner at Sydney Mitchell law firm. He asked Bacchus management to check their CCTV, but no suspects had been caught on camera.

The quick-thinking solicitor raced to a nearby Apple store where staff, using a postcode-based tracking system, traced his fast-moving iPad on a computer screen.

Mr Parnell said: ‘‘I could see the iPad travelling on a train to Water Orton. Then it stopped, before moving slowly as if someone was walking to a car park, then it began moving quickly.

‘’I called the police and they said someone would be along shortly but no one turned up. I then rung them again and they said someone would ring me back, but they didn’t. At this point it was 8.15pm and my iPad had stopped moving and I assumed the person had arrived home.

‘‘I walked to Steelhouse Lane police station and explained that my iPad had been taken but that I knew where it was. I was told that someone would call me back tomorrow, but I explained that the battery on my iPad may have discharged by then and if this happened I would lose the signal.

‘‘Regrettably the police said they couldn’t help me that night. I said I planned to go to the property and without police assistance there was a greater chance of there being an incident, but again they said they could not help.’’

The lawyer travelled to the identified Water Orton postcode area himself, but rang the police repeatedly on the way. “I kept saying, ‘I am going to have to knock on the door. You’re telling me you haven’t got anyone who can help me?’’’

But, after arriving in the village he claims he was then told by West Midlands Police to call the Warwickshire force, as they did not cover the area.

Mr Parnell said: ‘‘I had to go through the whole thing with them on the phone. I was told a car would be there within an hour. I waited a long time, it was getting on for 10.30pm then. No one came. They told me the nearest car was still 30 miles away.’’

After drawing a blank at two of the houses, the lawyer tried the third as he talked on his mobile with a more helpful Warwickshire police officer.

Mr Parnell said: ‘‘Whilst I was knocking on the door the police officer was saying how inaccurate the Apple location system was and the police always struggled to retrieve items through this service.

“But when the man opened the door, his face dropped. I said, ‘Can I have my iPad back!’ He said, ‘How did you find me?’

“I told him about the tracking device and his wife brought the iPad and immediately handed it over. The man said he was planning to contact Apple the next day.

“I left and asked the police officer who was on the phone if he heard my conversation. He confirmed that he had and he was quite excited. He couldn’t believe I’d got it back. He then phoned the man and gave him a stern warning that he had effectively committed the crime of theft by finding.

‘‘The whole event took some four hours from beginning to end. Had it not been for my persistence, my iPad would have ended up as another statistic.

‘‘I appreciate the police may have been busy but it was their total lack of interest that was what really bothered me.’’

Superintendent Danny Long, from Birmingham West and Central Police, told the Mail last night: “I accept that on this occasion the standard of service received by the victim fell short of that he should have expected from West Midlands Police.

“Based on the information available from the tracker app, officers should have been dispatched as soon as possible to attempt to recover the property.

“I will be reviewing this matter, addressing the issues raised and ensuring any learning is put in place as a result of this being brought to our attention by the Birmingham Mail.

“Tracker apps are becoming increasingly common and across the West Midlands we’ve had some great arrests thanks to such technology, with suspects finding themselves in a police cell and victims reunited with property within minutes of devices being stolen.

“I’d encourage anyone with smart phones, laptops or computer tablets to install tracker software as, if those items are lost or stolen, they’re much more likely to get them back.”